The medal is "a tribute to the idea that all of us, no matter where we come from, have the opportunity to change this country for the better," President Obama said

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President Barack Obama speaks before presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, November 22, 2016.

Saying they had touched him in a powerful and personal way, President Barack Obama awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to 21 groundbreaking actors, musicians, athletes and others during a ceremony Tuesday at the White House.

"These are folks who have helped make me who I am," Obama said as the celebration concluded in the White House East Room.

Obama said the people receiving the medal helped push America forward and inspired millions around the world.

The award recognizes especially meritorious contributions to the national interests of the United States, to its culture, or to other significant endeavors.

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Others receiving the award included: Richard Garwin, an inventor and polymath physicist who made pioneering contributions to the nation's defense; Frank Gehry, one of the world's leading architects; Margaret H. Hamilton, a mathematician and computer scientist; Maya Lin, the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; Lorne Michaels, producer of "Saturday Night Live"; Newton Minow, a former Federal Communications Commission chairman devoted to numerous public and charitable causes; and Eduardo Padron, president of Miami Dade College.